Black Box - Hide and Seek

Printing
If you don't have an AMS you should be able to just change the board to one color since the numbers are indented and should still be visible in one color. Other then that it should be pretty straight forward.

Introduction

Black Box is a two-dimensional puzzle game where a player (called seeker) try to find hidden atoms on a grid by sending probes, called “lasers”, into the box. The atoms’ locations are set by the opponent (known as hider). The seeker chooses a point to enter a laser into the grid, and the hider responds with a “hit”, "reflection", or “deflection" guiding the seeker to deduce the atoms’ locations. The goal is to uncover all hidden atoms with the fewest number of probes.

 

You can try it out online at theblackbox.games.

Rules

Set-up

First, the hider secretly arranges atoms on a small board. Typically, four atoms are used, but you can play with more or fewer if desired. Players can decide to play for a set number of rounds, such as three or five, to determine the overall winner. Players take turns being hider and seeker.

 

If you print an extra game you can both play at the same time, taking turns probing to see who wins. A bit like the classic game Battle Ship.

 

Probing

The seeker begins by choosing an entry point for the laser, numbered 1-36 on the board. The hider then responds with “hit,” “reflection,” or “deflection,” marking the entry and exit points if applicable. This continues until the seeker is ready to guess all atom locations.

 

Hit

A "hit" means the laser has struck an atom and been absorbed. This is marked with a red tile at the entry point.

 

For example, if the seeker probes at entry 32 with the given configuration seen on the image, and the laser hits an atom, it’s absorbed, leaving no exit point. A red tile is the placed on 32 to signal a hit to the seeker.

Deflection

A deflection happens when the laser exits at a different point than it entered. Lasers can’t pass to the left or right of an atom; if they approach an atom from the side, they deflect 90 degrees away from it.

 

For example, if the seeker probes from entry 19, the laser deflects off the atom and exits at 25. This is marked with matching orange tiles to show the laser's path, making it easy to connect entry and exit points if specific probes.

Reflection

A reflection occurs when the laser enters and exits at the same point, and this is marked with a yellow tile.

 

In this example a probe is made from entry 23. The laser is deflected by multiple atoms and return to its original entry point.

 

More examples

If the seeker probes entry 31, the laser would deflect off multiple atoms, as it can't pass to the left or right. Instead, it deflects 90 degrees away from each of the atoms and exits at 13. Matching orange tiles are then placed at 31 and 13.

 

 

When the seeker probes entry 12, the laser deflects away from the atoms at position 6-11 and hits the atom at position 15-18. The laser is absorbed by this atom, and a red tile is placed at entry 12.

 

 

Scoring

The seeker is given one point per tile (meaning 1 per hit and reflection, 2 per deflection). They also receive 5 points for each incorrect atom location guessed. The seeker with the lowest score wins.

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